Biocancell Therapeutics Ltd. (TASE:BICL) today announced that the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Virginia, has obtained the final permits to begin the Phase I/IIa clinical trial of the company's BC-819 drug for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Biocancell and Massey have signed a contract to conduct the trial, and Massey has begun recruiting patients.
The trial will test the safety and effectiveness of BC-819 on women suffering from advanced ovarian cancer, who had not responded to standard treatments. Biocancell plans to recruit 12 patients for the trial. They will undergo nine treatments with BC-819 once a week. Patients who respond favorably to the treatment will then undergo additional monthly treatments.
Five medical centers are currently participating in the trial: the Hadassah Medical Center, Wolfson Medical Center, and Meir Hospital in Israel; and the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and the Massey Cancer Center in the US. The Office of the Chief Scientist is partly financing the trial.
Biocancell develops personalized, targeted therapy that destroys tumor cells without affecting adjacent healthy tissue. The therapy is based on the identification of genes that express only in the tumors, but not healthy cells.
Biocancell's share rose 2% by midday today to NIS 3.20, giving a market cap of NIS 51 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 25, 2009
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